FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY (URM) APPLICANTS

pointed out that while diversity in our society is increasing, the number of underrepresented minorities (URMs) prepared to provide dental care, is decreasing.1 The Associated Press recently noted that a third of the nation’s 152,000 active dentists are over 55. As they begin to retire, the number of dentists in the United States – already too low to serve much of the rural population – will actually begin to decline. More than 31 million Americans now have no dentist in their immediate area.2 This dilemma is heightened for minorities. The analysis of the ratios of dentists to population by race and ethnicity found in the Surgeon General’s report revealed disparities which are cause for national concern. In 1996, the ratio for Caucasians was 1:1450; for Hispanics, 1:5400; for Blacks, 1:6150; and for Native Americans, 1:10,000. For the total population of Americans, the ratio was one dentist for every 1700 people.3 The data for dental education is also quite alarming for the future. There has been a decrease in the total production of dentists since the early 1990s. The total number of graduates of dental schools was at a high of 5460 in 1991. In 2000, the number of graduates was 4250. The decline of minority graduates from dental school is even more dramatic. Enrollment data for URM students in dental schools indicate that: The number of underrepresented minority students (African-Americans, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native) who graduated from dental school peaked at 564 in 1991. That was 14.1 % of the class. By 2000, the number of underrepresented minority graduates had declined by 393, or 9.2 % of the class.